The integration of photovoltaics (PV) into greenhouses is analyzed. Greenhouse energy demands, PV performances and effects on crop growth are reported. The application of organic, dye-sensitized and perovskite solar cells is described. The new PV technologies can promote sustainable, self-powered and smart greenhouses.
The use of traditional PV systems for greenhouse application has to take into account their integration on existing structures and glazing, as well as the trade-off between PV and plant requirements for the respective electrical and crop production.
The new PV technologies can promote sustainable, self-powered and smart greenhouses. Reducing the energy demand and dependency on fossil fuels is crucial for improving the sustainability of greenhouses, which are the most energy intensive systems in the agricultural sector.
Here, we describe novel electricity-generating windows (Wavelength-Selective Photovoltaic Systems, WSPVs) suitable for use in greenhouses for growing plants. The windows use an embedded dye to transmit some energy from sunlight to thin solar panels along the windows.
Greenhouses are typically built on open fields with good sunshine availability because of the fundamentally important demand of sunlight for crop photosynthesis. Therefore, such locations are invariably suitable for PV electricity production [ 34 ].
PV greenhouses have been deployed throughout southern Europe. Typically, a large fraction of the greenhouse roof is occupied by PV modules to feed electricity into local electrical grids. Crop production in such greenhouses would be reduced if an excessive area of the roof were covered by PV panels.
